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The Portrait of a Lady (1996) 6.2
Ratings:
6.2/10 from 8,458 users
Metascore: 61/100
Reviews: 67 user | 55 critic | 17 from Metacritic.com An American girl inherits a fortune and falls into a misguided relationship with a gentleman confidence artist whose true nature, including a barbed and covetous disposition, turns her life into a nightmare. Director:Jane Campion |
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Nicole Kidman | ... | ||
| John Malkovich | ... | ||
| Barbara Hershey | ... | ||
| Mary-Louise Parker | ... | ||
| Martin Donovan | ... | ||
| Shelley Winters | ... | ||
| Richard E. Grant | ... | ||
| Shelley Duvall | ... | ||
| Christian Bale | ... | ||
| Viggo Mortensen | ... | ||
| Valentina Cervi | ... | ||
| John Gielgud | ... | ||
| Roger Ashton-Griffiths | ... | ||
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Catherine Zago | ... |
Mother Superior
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Alessandra Vanzi | ... |
Nun #2
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Isabel Archer, an American heiress and free thinker travels to Europe to find herself. She tactfully rebuffs the advances of Caspar Goodwood, another American who has followed her to England. Her cousin, Ralph Touchett, wise but sickly becomes a soulmate of sorts for her. She makes an unfortunate alliance with the creepy Madame Merle who leads her to make an even more unfortunate alliance with Gilbert Osmond, a smooth but cold collector of Objets' de art who seduces her with an intense but unattainable sexuality. Isabel marries Osmond only to realize she's just another piece of art for his collection and that Madame Merle and Osmond are lovers who had hatched a diabolical scheme to take Isabel's fortune. Isabel's only comfort is the innocent daughter of Osmond, Pansy, but even that friendship is spoiled when Countess Gemini, Osmond's sister, reveals the child's true parentage. Isabel finally breaks free of Osmond and returns to Ralph's bedside, where, while breathing his last, they ... Written by Teresa B. <O'Donnell@worldnet.att.net>
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated PG-13 for mature sensuality and some brief nudity | See all certifications »Parents Guide:
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Details
Release Date:
17 January 1997 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Retrato de una dama See more »Box Office
Opening Weekend:
ITL 5,570,319,000 (Italy) (15 November 1996)Gross:
£575,908 (UK) (14 March 1997)Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Dolby DigitalColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
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Composed by George Fenton and John Leach
Provided by Associated Production Music
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Before being cast as Ralph, Martin Donovan initially met with Jane Campion about playing Casper. See more »Goofs
(at around 47 mins) A horse carriage is passing through the shot from right to left. The crew with dolly-cam and equipment is clearly visible. See more »Crazy Credits
Jane Campion thanks her family, Colin, Alice and Richard, for their generous support, suggestions and encouragement during the making of this film. See more »Soundtracks
Hidden TreasuresComposed by George Fenton and John Leach
Provided by Associated Production Music
See more »
I vacillate between preferring films that do a simple thing extremely well (Muppet Movie) or those that shoot high and fail. This film is the latter.
Campion has allied her aspirations with `women's' perspectives; honorable and rich enough. And she selects material ripe with possibilities. Clearly she has a vision, presumably extracted from the author's, but she fails to get on top of it.
Part of the problem is the simplification of the book for the screenplay. We just don't get enough foundation for the travesty of person we witness. A large part of the problem is Ms Kidman. She simply doesn't have the depth to pull this off, though she wears the clothes well. We never really see her supposed extraordinary spirit, and never really see how she's trapped by that very same spirit. Malkovich doesn't help. Here, he's too one-dimensionally a schemer.
Campion knows better than to throw in so many irrelevant film-school angles as a substitute for narrative reflection. This film is worth seeing as a study in how a spirited film maker is seduced by that very spirit into the superficialities of style, so is trapped. The ambiguous ending is, I think, Campion's limbo. Let's hope she escapes for her sake as well as ours. We need that spirit.